Judge Cannon should be removed from Trump case: Watchdog

by Marilyn W. Thompson ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. The brief argues that Cannon’s decision “hinged on ignoring the plain text of four federal statutes,” dismissing “a landmark Supreme Court opinion confirming the Attorney General’s power to appoint a Special Counsel.” CREW writes that “a reasonable member of the public could conclude, as many have, that the dismissal was the culmination of Judge Cannon’s many efforts to undermine and derail the prosecution of this case.” In a stunning July 15 ruling, Cannon wrote that Attorney General Merrick Garland exceeded his authority by appointing Smith as special counsel without congressional approval and violated the Constitution’s separation of powers. Cannon’s sudden decision to throw out Smith’s case came on the opening day of the Republican National Convention, and Trump praised her in his acceptance speech as a “highly respected federal judge” willing to stand up against what he has called Smith’s “witch hunts.” Represented by San Francisco lawyer Steven A. Hirsch of Keker, Van Nest & Peters, CREW described Cannon’s decision to end the case as “the culmination of many efforts to undermine and derail the prosecution.” It cited a series of unprecedented rulings over many months in which Cannon appeared to create “a parallel legal universe for former presidents” and crossed the line “to active judicial interference and advocacy” for Trump. CREW details “dramatic and unusual” controversies during Cannon’s case that offer the appeals court “more-than-adequate grounds to reassign the case upon remand.” The 11th Circuit has taken the unusual step of reversing Cannon twice during the course of the case, including a harsh rebuke in December 2022 of her decision to appoint a special master to screen classified documents. “If the court reverses Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s ruling in this matter, it will be the third time in under three years that it has had to do so in a seemingly straightforward case about a former president’s unauthorized possession of government documents,” CREW argued.